Ukip deputy leader Paul Nuttall made the comments after First Minister confirmed SNP MPs would vote on the English issue.

The deputy leader of Ukip has written a blog criticising the SNP’s stance on the vote on fox hunting, suggesting Nicola Sturgeon should be thrown in front of a hunt horse.

The comments came from Ukip MEP Paul Nuttall after the First Minister confirmed SNP MPs would break with their normal practice of not voting on matters relating solely to England to oppose the proposed change to the law on hunting foxes.

Sturgeon warned David Cameron he must respect the mandate of Scottish MPs at Westminster as the SNP threatened to scupper UK Government plans to relax the ban on the blood sport in England and Wales in a Commons vote on Wednesday.

After the SNP’s move, the UK Government announced on Tuesday that the vote would be postponed.

In his blog post, Nuttall hit out at Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP’s decision to renege on the SNP’s usual practice of not voting on English-only legislation.

He linked it to Emmeline Pankhurst Day - the annual commemoration of the Suffragette leader.

He wrote: "Tuesday is Emmeline Pankhurst Day, and whilst I am not going to throw myself in front of a horse to make my point about British democracy on this occasion, this is a vitally important constitutional matter and perhaps we should throw Sturgeon in front of a hunt horse as part of the commemorations."

Emily Davison was in fact the women’s franchise activist who died after falling under King George V’s horse in 1913, not Emmeline.

A spokesman for the SNP hit out at the comments and branded Ukip a "party of intolerance and negativity".

He said: "Even by Ukip’s standards this is a deeply crass comment. Political debate should be conducted in a respectful manner – UKIP show time and again that they are a party of intolerance and negativity.

"On Emmeline Pankhurst Day Scotland’s first female First Minister will be in London make a strong, positive argument for a fairer economy."

It is believed the vote will take place once rules have changed in the Government's plans for "English votes for English laws", known as Evel.

The decision of the SNP to vote against the legal change, which would actually bring the law on hunting in England and Wales into line with the law in Scotland, means it was almost certainly to be defeated.

With a number of anti-hunting Conservative MPs planning to vote with Labour and the SNP in the Commons-free vote, Ms Sturgeon said it was a reminder to Mr Cameron just how slender his Commons majority was.

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